Lexicon Pharmaceuticals Completes the Sale of Xermelo to TerSera Therapeutics

On September 8, 2020 Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: LXRX) reported the completion of the sale of Lexicon’s rights, title and interest in XERMELO (telotristat ethyl) to TerSera Therapeutics LLC (Press release, Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, SEP 8, 2020, View Source [SID1234564749]).

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Lexicon received $160.4 million in cash at closing, comprised of a $155 million upfront payment and additional payments for inventory and other closing considerations. Lexicon may receive additional milestone payments of up to an aggregate of $65 million for the development and commercialization of telotristat ethyl in patients with biliary tract cancer. Additionally, Lexicon will be eligible to receive mid-teens royalties on net sales of XERMELO in biliary tract cancer. In connection with the transaction, TerSera offered employment to 28 Lexicon employees. Lexicon plans to realign its business around its research and development assets, with a focus on its LX9211 neuropathic pain program, now in Phase 2 clinical development, while substantially reducing its debt by fully repaying its $150 million secured term loan.

About LX9211
LX9211 is a potent, orally delivered, selective small molecule inhibitor of AAK1, a target discovered and extensively characterized in an alliance with Bristol Myers Squibb. Preclinical studies of LX9211 demonstrated central nervous system penetration and reduction in pain behavior in models of neuropathic pain without affecting opiate pathways. Lexicon holds exclusive research, development and commercialization rights to LX9211 and additional compounds acting through AAK1 under the alliance.

Andrew Hirsch Named Chief Executive Officer of C4 Therapeutics

On September 8, 2020 C4 Therapeutics, Inc. (C4T), a biopharmaceutical company pioneering a new class of small-molecule drugs that selectively destroy disease-causing proteins through degradation, reported the hiring of Andrew Hirsch as the Company’s incoming chief executive officer (Press release, C4 Therapeutics, SEP 8, 2020, View Source [SID1234564748]). Mr. Hirsch comes to C4T from Agios Pharmaceuticals where he was chief financial officer and head of corporate development. Marc Cohen, co-founder, interim chief executive officer, and executive chairman will remain as executive chairman of the Company.

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"Andrew’s more than 20 years of leadership experience in the biotechnology industry across pre-clinical, clinical and commercial-stage companies make him the perfect choice to lead C4T into the next phase of its growth as we advance our pipeline of novel targeted protein degraders into the clinic," commented Mr. Cohen.

"I am thrilled to be joining C4T, which is a leader in developing this exciting new modality of medicines," commented Mr. Hirsch. "I am passionate about improving the lives of patients and believe that C4T’s proprietary technology platform has the ability to develop novel therapeutic candidates to target and eliminate disease-causing proteins for the treatment of cancer, neurodegenerative conditions and other diseases. This approach offers a tremendous opportunity to make a lasting impact on patient outcomes."

Mr. Hirsch has more than 20 years of experience in a range of strategic and operating roles, including over 15 years in the biotechnology industry. Prior to his time at Agios, Mr. Hirsch served as President and Chief Executive Officer of BIND Therapeutics and Chief Financial Officer at Avila Therapeutics, until its acquisition by Celgene. Prior to that, he held roles of increasing responsibility during his nearly 10-year tenure at Biogen, including Vice President of Corporate Strategy and M&A and Program Executive for the Tecfidera development team. He currently serves on the board of directors at Editas Medicine. Mr. Hirsch holds an MBA from the Tuck School at Dartmouth College and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania.

Clovis Oncology to Present at the H.C. Wainwright 22nd Annual Global Investment Conference

On September 8, 2020 Clovis Oncology, Inc. (Nasdaq: CLVS) reported that its President and Chief Executive Officer, Patrick J. Mahaffy, will present at the H.C. Wainwright 22nd Annual Global Investment Conference on Wednesday, September 16, 2020 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern time (Press release, Clovis Oncology, SEP 8, 2020, View Source [SID1234564747]).

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This conference is virtual and a live webcast of the presentation can be accessed through the investor relations section of the Company’s website at www.clovisoncology.com. Following the live presentation, a replay of the webcast will be available on the Company’s website for 30 days.

TRILLIUM THERAPEUTICS ANNOUNCES UPDATED DATA FROM ITS ONGOING TTI-622 AND TTI-621 DOSE ESCALATION STUDIES

On September 8, 2020 Trillium Therapeutics Inc. ("Trillium" or the "Company") (NASDAQ/TSX: TRIL), a clinical stage immuno-oncology company developing innovative therapies for the treatment of cancer, reported updated data from its ongoing TTI-622 and TTI-621 dose escalation studies (Press release, Trillium Therapeutics, SEP 8, 2020, View Source [SID1234564746]).

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"We are exceedingly encouraged by the evolving profile of TTI-622, our SIRPα-IgG4 Fc fusion protein, as demonstrated in the ongoing dose escalation study in relapsed and refractory lymphomas," said Jan Skvarka, Trillium’s President and Chief Executive Officer. "TTI-622 is showing substantial monotherapy activity in highly pre-treated patients, with a broad therapeutic window, a rapid onset of action, and across a range of lymphoma indications. With no significant safety signals observed, we are further escalating the dose. TTI-621, our SIRPα-IgG1 Fc fusion protein, is showing a strong safety profile, and we have not observed any dose limiting thrombocytopenia for doses up to 1.4 mg/kg. We continue to see a monotherapy activity signal, and are further dose escalating to characterize clinical activity at higher doses. We expect to declare maximum tolerated doses or recommended phase 2 doses for both molecules either towards the end of this year or in the first half of 2021. Abstracts for both trials have been submitted to the American Society of Hematology (ASH) (Free ASH Whitepaper) annual meeting, and we look forward to presenting further details and additional data in December."

TTI-622 Study Update:

TTI-622 is being evaluated in a two-part, multicenter, open-label, phase 1a/1b study in patients with advanced relapsed or refractory lymphoma or multiple myeloma (NCT03530683).
In the phase 1a portion of the study, the safety assessment of the 8 mg/kg dosing cohort has been successfully completed. One Grade 4 thrombocytopenia dose-limiting toxicity (DLT) was reported among the six evaluable patients; no additional Grade 3 or higher thrombocytopenia events have been observed.
A total of six objective responses (33%; 1 complete response, 5 partial responses) have been observed among 18 response evaluable patients treated at dose levels of 0.8, 2.0, 4.0 and 8.0 mg/kg. Responses have occurred across all dose levels in this range, with three of six (50%) patients achieving responses in the 8.0 mg/kg cohort (response assessment for one additional patient at 8 mg/kg dose not yet available).
Clinical responses have been observed across multiple lymphoma indications, including diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, cutaneous T-cell lymphoma with large cell transformation, peripheral T-cell lymphoma, and follicular lymphoma.
All responses were observed at the first assessment at 8 weeks.
The study is currently enrolling patients at the 12 mg/kg dose level.
TTI-621 Study Update:

TTI-621 is being evaluated in a four-part, multicenter, open-label phase 1 study in patients with advanced relapsed or refractory hematologic malignancies (NCT02663518). In the ongoing Part 4, TTI-621 dosing is being escalated beyond 0.5 mg/kg in patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma.
Preliminary data from Part 4 indicate the weekly infusions of TTI-621 up to 1.4 mg/kg are well tolerated without dose-limiting thrombocytopenia. Platelet decreases generally occurred on dosing days, recovered in 2-4 days, and have not worsened with increasing dose levels. Infusion-related reactions (IRRs) typically occurred during initial infusions and often resolved without recurrence. One Grade 3 IRR DLT was observed at 1.0 mg/kg.
Antitumor activity in the 1 mg/kg cohort includes 1 partial response and 1 skin complete response (overall assessment stable disease) in 6 evaluable patients; 2 patients were bridged to allogeneic transplantation. Preliminary data suggest dose-dependent improvements in modified severity weighted assessment tool (mSWAT) scores in the 0.5 to1.0 mg/kg cohorts (1.4 mg/kg cohort data not yet available).
The study is currently enrolling patients at the 2.0 mg/kg dose level.
Webcast Information:

Trillium will host a live conference call and webcast at 5:30 p.m. ET today to discuss this clinical data update. The conference call may be accessed by (833) 670-0758 and with conference ID 7695694. The webcast may be accessed on Trillium’s Events and Presentations page at View Source or at View Source The archived webcast will be available on Trillium’s website for 30 days following the call.

Abeona Therapeutics to Participate in Upcoming Investor Conferences

On September 8, 2020 Abeona Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: ABEO), a fully-integrated leader in gene and cell therapy, reported that the Company will participate in the following upcoming investor conferences (Press release, Abeona Therapeutics, SEP 8, 2020, View Source [SID1234564745]).

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João Siffert, M.D., Chief Executive Officer, will conduct virtual one-on-one meetings with institutional investors at Citi’s 15th Annual BioPharma Virtual Conference on Wednesday, September 9, 2020.

Dr. Siffert will present at the Wells Fargo Virtual Healthcare Conference on Thursday, September 10, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. ET. A live webcast of the presentation will be available on the investor section of the Abeona Therapeutics website at www.abeonatherapeutics.com. The webcast replay will be available within 24 hours of the live presentation and will be accessible for 30 days.